


In the end, we're partners

by Strawmari



Series: Find Your Beach [7]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: Ballet, Baseball, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Mild Smut, Organized Crime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:54:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22685056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strawmari/pseuds/Strawmari
Summary: What happens in Vegas, doesn't always stay in Vegas.Or"Deansie can't be that dumb, right?".
Relationships: Beth Boland/Rio
Series: Find Your Beach [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1579987
Comments: 9
Kudos: 294





	In the end, we're partners

**Author's Note:**

> This is part 7 of 7, I wanted to finish it up before seasom 3 started... can you believe it's this Sunday?
> 
> Thank you for the kudos on part 6 and to tiffswonderland, MissTricey, Angelathirty, s_t_c_s, Krishawndalyn+Clark, kiki83 & riogrande for the comments. (And really anyone who's read this).
> 
> I don't own any character/show & any similarities to other ffs are coincidental. I hope you enjoy!!

"You think she's gonna tell us?".

Ruby shrugged, looking over the headrest. They were separated on the flight back. Beth was stuck all the way back by the restrooms and to their surprise, Rio willingly gave up his seat to sit beside her. If they hadn't already caught on, that would've done it. They loved Beth, but neither of them were willing to sit there.

It was Annie's turn to peek between the seats, they seemed cozy and were in the process of swapping flight snacks. She had meant it to be a joke, neither of them were supposed to think it was a good idea. They were the brains of the operation, yet they were the ones who eloped in Vegas and not her for a change.

"Is it the sex? I just don't get it".

"She's always been drawn to him, remembering his name and shit, we should've known".

Annie snorted, those were the good ol'days. It was long before they were in too deep and still had a chance to get out. They talked about hanging up their aprons and going back to the mundane lifestyle, working for minimum wage, but Beth kept giving them reasons to print more.

-

"They know, don't they?" Beth asked, watching Ruby duck back down in her seat. The flight was only four hours long, but they had to have glanced over a hundred times. 

Rio nodded, reaching over to interlock their fingers. "You regret it?".

"No, why do you?".

"Nah". A mischievous smile formed on his face, eyes flickering toward the bathroom stall. "Whatcha say, ma?".

Beth couldn't believe what he was suggesting, more so, she couldn't believe how tempting of an offer it was. If it weren't for the plane full of people, she probably would've led the way.

No one remembered who suggested it, but somehow they had scheduled themselves up for Marcus's little league game on Wednesday and Jane's ballet recital on Friday. There were only a few people left in the dark and they wanted to keep it that way, namely Dean, for the obvious reasons

-

Beth got the shock of her life when she went to pick up the kids from Dean's apartment. While she was rearranging her house for the next week, Turner was focusing in on her ex-husband. Dean mentioned the FBI agent stopped by and how he asked about Beth's whereabouts. 

"You sure it wasn't about the dog poop case?" She joked, trying not to stress out. "What did you say?".

"I said nothing and that I love you. It's him, isn't it? I can throw him under the bus, you'll be free and we can go back to the way things were".

No, Beth had already spent eight months without Rio, she wasn't about to do it again. Racketeering could bring up to twenty years and who knew what else Turner would try to pile on.

"You can't, Dean, you can't".

"He showed me a picture. Y'know that isn't you, Bethie, he doesn't love you".

"This was my choice, _mine_ and you don't get a say, not anymore".

Beth got all the kids out to the van and took a deep breath once she was inside. She didn't think Dean would tell, then again she never expected him to hire teenage hitmen. Rio made him act irrationally and that's why she needed to tell everyone.

-

Marcus hit a foul ball and two strikes, it was his final attempt at the plate. The kids were riled up, waving their sign and Kenny even got the bleachers to do a 'go Marcus' chant, much to the displeasure of the visiting team. 

He struck out, but he put forth a valiant effort and that's what made Rio proud.

"We're going to the next game, right?" Danny asked, followed by his siblings chiming in that they needed to be there to support Marcus. Of course they'd go if Rio wanted them there.

"m'sure he'd like that".

Beth smiled, shoving Emma's jacket into the backpack. They waited for Marcus to finish his team huddle, it was only right for them to head to the parking lot together.

-

She laid in bed for hours, just thinking about Rio chatting with her kids and how he consoled Marcus after his loss. He let her see a different side of him and even though she shouldn't, she found herself falling a little bit more every day. Neither of them shared what they were feeling, the mere thought of saying _I love you_ meant giving up power in the relationship, something they both fought so hard to obtain.

The images soon changed to his hands on her breasts, the way his tongue brushed against her clit and she felt her thighs twitch. Beth wanted to call him over, have him sneak into her bedroom and promise to keep their voices down, but that wasn't possible. 

She thought about the unwanted relationship advice Annie gave her during her and Dean's dry spell. No one liked Dean, but they all felt like Beth deserved to be treated like a queen, so they tried to help her restore what they once had. Beth never used the tactics, but maybe, just maybe she could dust them off and test their usefulness on Rio.

Beth reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her phone, scrolling through the contacts until she found Christopher. The second she found out another alias, she replaced the previous contact name of 'R'. She recently toyed with the idea of putting hubby or something along those lines, but that seemed juvenile.

"Everything good?".

She hummed, trying to remember what Annie said to do. Nothing about her relationship (if she could call it that) with Rio was normal and every time they were in the same room, she could feel herself being drawn deeper, she liked to believe he was under the same spell.

"I was going to invite you over, but you have Marcus, so….".

If it were possible to hear a smirk, she did. "Is that right?".

"I'm naked" Beth squeaked, covering her face the second she got the words out. She couldn't remember the practice dialogue Annie gave her, so she winged it and got straight to the point.

It was silent and she feared she misread the situation, but that was impossible, right? Rio wouldn't have gone through with the sham wedding just because of Turner, he had to have felt something for her too, they were far too smart to think that was their only option. Then she heard it, a door locking over the phone, Rio must've made his way to his bathroom. "Gonna do this, ma?".

"I…want to".

"C'mon, Elizabeth, I wanna hear it."

And she did, softly moaning into the speaker as he ran through what he _planned_ on doing when the kids were away.

-

Ruby was surprised, nobody and they mean nobody expected Turner to reach out to Dean. Annie still wasn't sure that he could read, but that was neither here nor there. They guessed it made sense, if they couldn't get to Beth with Rio, why not reach out to her ex-husband? 

The second Beth broke down in his arms, she knew that she had to tell him. The problem was she didn't just tell him about the loft and shooting Rio, she spilled everything. He knew about Canada, the pills and the counterfeit money that was being held in the storage units. Beth was hurt and her bare feet were bloodied from the mile long walk back. 

"Deansie can't be that dumb, right?".

Beth shrugged, "I don't know, he already tried to hire a hitman".

Rio wasn't worried about it, they briefly talked about it after she caught her breath. He laughed and called Dean a dumbass, a sentiment she shared. With Dean it was never about the children's safety, he knew months in about the money, he even made her a secret compartment to hide it. It wasn't until he realized how close she and Rio had become did he start making outlandish ultimatums knowing she would pick the kids.

It wasn't about the children's safety at all, he was insecure and couldn't handle the fact that Beth wanted to be with someone else.

"If push came to shove, would you turn on him?".

Beth looked to Annie and for the first time in the two years she had known Rio, she didn't need to think about it, she knew the answer was no.

"Wow. So it's more than boning, you actually like this guy".

"Yeah, I think I do".

-

Friday came around and Jane spun around the kitchen in her tutu. Beth might've missed the last recital due to Rio rambling on about them being FedEx, she still wasn't a sure how that was the first example that came to mind, but she certainly wasn't missing this one.

It was the last day with the kids and no matter how many months it had been since they finalized the schedule, it still pained her. The one plus side, apart from day drinking, was that Rio had already filled her schedule.

Rio texted thirty minutes beforehand to ask if it was safe to park his car in the street, or if she thought Dean would take a bat to his windows as part of his vendetta. He was riding out with them in the van, it worked well for the zoo so why change it up.

There was a slight possibility that Dean could be at the recital. He said he had to work, that there was a blowout sale on hot tubs and the manager was keeping everyone late. Beth knew him though, he would do everything in his power to be there for the kids and if he knew Rio was there, he'd sell the spa goods for a dollar a piece in order to leave.

Rio invited himself in, Marcus tagging along at his side. _Bad guys don't ring doorbells_ and she was fine with that, at least when it came to him.

"Hi, uh..the kids are in the living room".

Marcus took off without any further prompting, somewhere along the way he determined he'd rather spend his time with the Boland kids over his dad, that worked in Rio's favor. 

He stepped behind Beth, wrapping his arms around her. She was attempting to pack their snack bags, it was usually done the night before, but she worked later the night before doing inventory on their legitimate product and she was now rushing around. Rio brushed the hair off of her shoulder, pressing his lips to her neck. "Mm, we can't".

Rio pulled away, running his hand down her arm "...yet".

She turned around to see his signature smirk plastered on his face and Beth realized she wasn't the only one with a countdown.

"Mom, have you seen my phone?".

"Uh, yeah, it was on the table". 

-

The dance only took three minutes and Jane was in the front for most of it. They had to sit through four routines involving flossing and to Beth's surprise, Rio didn't complain. 

Marcus had been at the edge of his seat, trying to capture every spin Jane did on Rio's phone. While most of the images were blurry, that didn't stop him from proudly showing them off.

Dean had shown up after all, sitting in the back row. She figured he came in mid performance and caught just enough to give raving reviews. Whether he clocked Rio or not was still unclear, she just hoped it wasn't ammunition to tell Turner about their crimes.

Beth wasn't going to hide Rio, she wasn't ashamed of what they did, quite the contrary, she's never felt more sure of herself. The kids were the only ones who were in the dark, but if the recital, zoo and little league games were any indication, they would be thrilled about it.

Jane was holding both their hands when they reached Dean. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know he was pissed, and maybe it wasn't the smartest idea to bring Rio along on a drop off, but she wanted to show Dean once and for all his threats didn't faze her. 

"Daddy, did you see me?".

"Of course, Janie, you looked awesome".

It was a miracle that they made it to the parking lot without a scuffle. Dean kept it all inside, probably out of fear, but she knew later in the night there would be a voicemail full of complaints. Beth would do the same thing as usual, listen to the first thirty seconds and then delete it. 

Kenny stopped, his hand on the passenger door, looking back to them. "Rio, you should come to my math competition next weekend".

"Alright, lil man".

Beth blinked away the tears and waved goodbye one last time. She didn't know if it was the kids being so welcoming, or the fact that Kenny, the one most similar to their father, was willing to invite Rio in front of Dean. 

Once the car pulled out of the parking spot, Rio boasted about the kids liking him and honestly there wasn't anything to dislike. Beth rolled her eyes, "Just so you know, Marcus liked me first".

"Coz you bribed him with sugar, shit don't count". He covered his mouth when Marcus gasped, pointing up at him. "Aight, you ain't tellin your mom".

Beth laughed, all they had to do was drop Marcus off with Rhea and they could have the weekend to themselves. It was on the ride back to her house that she found out Rhea knew. Rio didn't tell, it was his mother that broke the news, granted she didn't know specifics. 

_"How did Rio propose? Do you like the ring?"._

_"Ring?" Rhea was confused. It wasn't uncommon for his mom to call, she always called before bedtime to talk to Marcus._

_"He stopped by last week, said he needed it for the weekend"._

_Last weeked Rio was in Vegas, he was going with the girls and that's when it dawned on her. "..Beth"._

_"Mija, who's Beth?"._

_"Ooooh, Rio. I'll call you back"._

She begged Rio for details and he refused to do so, at least that's what Beth gathered from the three texts addressed to 'the new step mom'. Beth should've known Rhea would get a kick out of it, she saw something between them before they did.

-

They pulled into the driveway and Beth told him to wait outside, she needed ten minutes to get everything ready. Rio tried to tell her that nothing needed to be changed and to trust him when he said she looked perfect. Beth shook her head, she wasn't going to let her hard work go to waste.

Rio loved green, that much she gathered from his place, so that might've been the driving force behind her lingerie choice. The first lap dance was embarrassing, there would definitely have been boos if she were on stage. Rio didn't laugh, instead he called her sexy and maybe that's what gave her the courage to try something new again.

She put out candles and threw on her red robe, finishing up the final details. Dean had splurged on their wedding and took her to a symphony for their honeymoon. Beth didn't complain, at the time she thought she needed something extravagant like in the movies, but she learned it just needed to come from the heart and not because there was a groupon.

That's why Rio was different. He didn't say much and when he did, they were often threats, but she always knew how he felt when he touched her.

The girls called her crazy and asked if she lost her mind when he showed up at paper porcupine for the first time. They didn't understand how they went from attempted murder to an almost-relationship, but it worked for them and they decided to stop fighting fate.

Rio tapped on the doorframe with his knuckle, shaking her from her thoughts. "What's this?".

Beth looked around, maybe she shouldn't have put all six candles out. She was hoping he'd ignore the fact it looked like a funeral. "I've always wanted to do this".

"Burn the house down?".

"I- " he chuckled, seeing how she considered blowing a few of them out. 

"That for me, mama?". Rio brushed her robe off of her shoulder, just enough for the emerald lace to come into view.

"For me...and you".

The sole purpose of her trip to that bed and breakfast was to reclaim her sexy, to be the boss bitch she knew that she was and she had. Turner didn't scare her, she took back her life from Dean and she was starting a fresh, new life with Rio. Beth refused to go back to the way she was and Rio didn't want to change her, he loved who she had become. 

Beth slowly closed the distance, pulling him down until his lips met hers.

-

She lowered herself down, gently rocking her hips against him. Her hands roaming over his chest and shoulders, stopping momentarily at his abs. Rio slipped his hand between their bodies, working her clit. 

Her breath hitched, gathering the sheets as he pushed her closer. "Ri...oh".

Rio chuckled, he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy watching her come undone. Beth was a boss, he was damn proud of her, and being the only name she was screaming wasn't a bad prize either.

She raised up slightly, as much as her trembling legs would allow and lowered herself back down, faster than before. They collectively moaned, Rio's free hand reaching for her thigh. "C'mon, Elizabeth".

She smacked the headboard as she came, collapsing on his chest briefly. Beth gave a small nod and his thrusts picked back up. He growled as she clenched around him, finishing soon after.

-

Somewhere between round two or three, who even knew at that point, they took a breather. Beth played with her ring, deciding it was time to come clean. "I handled the Turner situation".

Rio sat up, turning to his side. For someone who claimed they couldn't kill someone, putting the loft ordeal aside, that was an interesting turn of events. "Lemme guess, lightswitch and you cleaned the boat".

"No" she rolled her eyes, "I still don't want to kill anyone. I submitted an anonymous tip that he was padding his cases, Stan's friend said he's suspended pending investigation".

He tossed his head back onto the pillow, that's the Beth he knew. "Ain't gonna stop him".

"No, but we'll have a few months to ourselves and we'll be ready for him".

Rio smirked, maybe her plan wasn't bad after all. He did have Demon on speedial if they needed to make Turner go away. "Alright, you're the boss".

"...partners".

His hand cradled her cheek, pulling her closer to himself. "I love you, Elizabeth".

Beth swallowed, searching his face for any sign that he was joking and when she found nothing, there was only one thing left to say "I love you too".

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed & I can't wait to hear your thoughts!


End file.
